Mississippi Statute of Limitations for Civil and Personal Injury Actions
- An Overview

July, 2004

Important Notice: The following overview
of Mississippi's "statute of limitations" laws is presented on an as-is basis.
This information is believed accurate as of the date of authorship, but is
not intended to provide a complete analysis of statutory limitations on the
right to sue and may not reflect subsequent changes in the law. For a full
review of Mississippi's "statute of limitations" law, or for a determination
of how the law applies to a specific incident or injury, please consult a
qualified attorney licensed to practice in the state of Mississippi.

What Is A "Statute of Limitations"

A statute of limitations is a law which places a time limit on pursuing a
legal remedy in relation to wrongful conduct. After the expiration of the
statutory period, unless a legal exception applies, the injured person loses
the right to file a lawsuit seeking money damages or other relief.

Proliferation of Statutes

Although people often speak of "the statute of limitations", in
fact there are many statutes which apply limitations periods to civil actions.
Sometimes it can be difficult to keep track of the various statutes and their
exceptions. Thus it is a very good idea for somebody who is concerned about
losing their right to sue as a result of the expiration of the statutory limitations
period to consult with a qualified lawyer, who can help determine which statute
applies, and help preserve the right to recover damages.

Specific Civil Actions

The following periods represent a small sample of the statutory limitations
periods in Mississippi. Please note that it may be possible to bring multiple
causes of action from a single incident of wrongful conduct, and thus even
if it appears that the relevant statute of limitations has run it may remain
possible to bring a different claim. Also, there may be an exception to the
standard limitations period that applies to any given situation. The following
list is provided by way of example. If you wish to know how the statute of
limitations applies to a specific situation, you should verify the statutory
time period and its relevance to your situation with a qualified Mississippi
lawyer.

Professional Malpractice: Professional negligence
actions, including medical
malpractice lawsuits, must be filed within 2 years from the act
or omission which resulted in injury, or from the reasonable date
of its discovery. No malpractice action may be commenced more than
seven years after the date of the act or omission underlying the malpractice
claim.

Personal Injury: For most personal injury based upon negligent
conduct, 3 years. For most personal injury resulting from intentional misconduct,
1 year.

Libel / Slander / Defamation: 1 year.

Product Liability: 3 years.

Contracts: 3 years. Unwritten contract of employment,
1 year.

Statute of Limitations or Statute of Repose

A statute of repose is different from a statute of limitations, in that after
the statutory period has expired it is not possible to file a lawsuit even
if an injury occurs after that time. For example, if there is a twenty year
statute of repose on the manufacture of aircraft, a claim cannot be filed
against the manufacturer more than twenty years after the date of manufacture,
even if a design or manufacturing defect is responsible for a later accident.

Accrual of Claims

A statute of limitations is said to start running at the time a claim accrues.
Ordinarily, that is the time at which an injury is suffered.

The Discovery Rule

Sometimes it is not reasonably possible for a person to discover the cause
of an injury, or even to know that an injury has occurred, until considerably
after the act which causes the injury. For example, an error in the drafting
of a will might not be noticed until the will is being executed, decades after
it was drafted, or a financial planner's embezzlement might not be noticed
for years due to the issuance of false statements of account.

When it applies, the "discovery rule" permits a suit to be filed
within a certain period of time after the injury is discovered, or reasonably
should have been discovered. The discovery rule does not apply to all civil
injuries, and sometimes the period of time for bringing a claim post-discovery
can be short, so it is important to seek legal assistance quickly in the event
of the late discovery of an injury.

Tolling of the Statute of Limitations

In addition to late discovery, it may be possible to avoid the harsh result
of a statute of limitation by arguing that the statute has been "tolled".
When it is said that a statute is "tolled", it means that something
has stopped the statute from running for a period of time. Typical reasons
for tolling a statute of limitations include minority (the victim of the injury
was a minor at the time the injury occurred), mental incompetence (the victim
of the injury was not mentally competent at the time the injury occurred),
and the defendant's bankruptcy (the "automatic stay" in bankruptcy
ordinarily tolls the statute of limitations until such time as the bankruptcy
is resolved or the stay is lifted).

With the exception of medical malpractice cases, the statute of limitations
begins to run on a minor's 21st birthday.

Contractual Limitations

It is often possible to shorten a statutory limitations period by contract.
For example, an employment contract might require that any claim relating
to the employment relationship, including wrongful termination, be filed within
one year of the claimed wrongful conduct. Courts often uphold these clauses,
particularly in the context of business transactions, even though they provide
for a shorter limitations period than the statute of limitations would otherwise
apply.